After being targeted by progressive climate campaigners, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made clear on Wednesday that he will work to include the creation of a Civilian Climate Corps in evolving federal infrastructure legislation.
“We must go big and bold with a Civilian Climate Corps.”
—Sen. Ed Markey
Schumer (D-N.Y.) issued a lengthy statement outlining his support for the inclusion of a Civilian Climate Corps (CCC), which was inspired by a New Deal-era program and formally unveiled as legislation earlier this year by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on the same day they reintroduced the Green New Deal Resolution.
The Sunrise Movement, whose New York City chapter took to the streets to push Schumer on the CCC proposal, celebrated his statement as a victory for local organizers and the youth-led movement more broadly.
“In the upcoming American Jobs and Families Plans legislation, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to confront the climate crisis and create millions of middle-class, family-sustaining union jobs,” Schumer said. “Creating a new Civilian Climate Corps is a key step towards both goals.”
The Senate majority leader vowed to “work tirelessly to achieve a big and bold Civilian Climate Corps that places justice at the center and urgently addresses the interlocking climate and economic crises.”
“In the coming weeks, I look forward to working in New York with Sunrise Movement, community organizations, and unions on a shared vision for the CCC,” he added, thanking “the dedicated young organizers and activists who have brought the idea of a new Civilian Climate Corps this far.”